The field of the present invention relates generally to earrings.
An earring is an ornament of jewelry which is worn in the ear. It is well known that an earring may be attached to the lobe of an ear by a clamp or a screw. The clamp or screw must be tightened against the earlobe which is composed of tough areolar and adipose tissue which is not very firm. Therefore, the clasp must be large enough to support the earring and the clamp or screw must be tightly affixed against the earlobe. However, such devices are often uncomfortable when the clasp or screw is too tight. On the other hand, when the clasp or screw is not tight enough, the earring will become detached from the ear and lost, and even a tightly affixed earring may become detached from the ear and lost if the person wearing such an earring is engaged in an act of physical activity. Further, the bulkiness of the clasp detracts from a dainty, cosmetic appearance.
It is also known that an earring may be held in an earlobe by a pin placed through a hole pierced in an earlobe. While such an earring has a more cosmetically acceptable appearance and may be made smaller due to the lack of a clasp, a person cannot wear such an earring until an earlobe has been surgically pierced. Since some people find such a surgical procedure too psychologically unattractive, not everyone can wear a pierced earring. Once one has decided to have an earlobe pierced, there is associated therewith a certain degree of pain and the resulting hole must be kept clean to avoid infection or a closing of the hole. Finally, although a pierced earring is more secure than an earring attached to the lobe of an ear by a clamp or a screw, a pierced earring suffers from the very real disadvantage that should the earring become caught, or should someone pull on the earring, the earlobe of the wearer will be painfully torn since the earring will not detach from the hole as would a clamp or screw earring.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an attractive, safe earring which may be easily affixed to an ear without the necessity of having a pierced ear. Such an earring must also be capable of being comfortably and tightly affixed to the ear with a minimum of excess, unsightly bulk.